Paul McMahon

tenor

"Paul McMahon ornaments with a refined sense of line and sophisticated expressiveness." 
Peter McCallum, The Sydney Morning Herald

Performing regularly as a soloist with symphony orchestras, chamber music groups and choirs throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia, tenor Paul McMahon is one of Australia’s finest exponents of baroque and classical repertoire, particularly the Evangelist role in the Passions of J. S. Bach.

Career highlights include Bach’s Johannes-Passion with the Australian Chamber Orchestra under Richard Tognetti, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion under Roy Goodman, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung under Richard Hickox, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor under Masaaki Suzuki and Mozart’s Requiem with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Manfred Honeck. Paul’s recital collaborations include performances with the renowned pianists Bengt Forsberg and Kathryn Stott, the New Zealand String Quartet and the Australia Ensemble.  Paul has appeared as soloist in the festivals of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and has given concerts for broadcast on BBC Radio 3, ABC Classic FM and the MBS network.  As a member of the vocal ensemble, The Song Company (1997–2001), he toured regularly throughout Australia, Asia and Europe.

Paul's most recent appearances include Handel's Messiah with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Mozart's Mass in C Minor with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Handel's Solomon and Bach's Easter Oratorio for St George's Cathedral, Perth, the Evangelist in Bach's Johannes-Passion and Matthäus-Passion in Melbourne and Brisbane, and Haydn's Creation with the Newcastle University Choir. Paul’s discography includes a double-CD recording of art songs by the Australian composer Calvin Bowman for Decca (Real and Right and True), for ABC Classics the album of English, French and Italian lute songs entitled A Painted Tale, a CD and DVD recording of Handel’s Messiah, Handel’s Semele, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, Mozart’s Requiem and Idomeneo, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and Fauré’s La naissance de Venus. Other ABC Classics' releases include Swoon - A Visual and Musical Odyssey and The Swoon Collection Gold Edition; the Christmas discs Perfect Day, Silent Night and Glorious Night; Prayer for Peace; Eternity; Danny Boy, Ye Banks and Braes, Praise II and the soundtrack to the Australian feature film The Bank.

Paul accepted a Churchill Fellowship in 2002; he holds a PhD in music from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and a Master of Music (Performance) degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Paul was Deputy Head of School and a Senior Lecturer in Music at the Australian National University's School of Music (2013–2021) and a music academic at the University of Newcastle, Australia (2005–2012). He is currently a Chief Investigator on the Australian Research Council Discovery Project 'The shock of the old: Re-discovering the sounds of bel canto 1700 – 1900” (DP220101596); he is an Adjunct Research Fellow and member of the vocal staff at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and Queensland State Manager for Musica Viva Australia.

Representation: World

Paul’s Personal Site